Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
By Kristy Deer | Daily Reporter
NEW PALESTINE — It’s important for employers to be able to offer employees different health options, federal and state officials say.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the nation’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, and Kelly Loeffler, U.S. administrator of the Small Business Administration, came Thursday to Hancock Wellness Center in New Palestine. They were there to discuss more on Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) in Indiana.
An ICHRA is an option for employers looking for more flexibility in how they provide health benefits. Rather than relying solely on a traditional group plan, employers can provide tax-advantaged contributions that employees use to purchase individual coverage that works for them.
Indiana has been named as the national leader in encouraging this type of model, becoming the first state to enact a tax credit for small employers that transition from traditional group coverage to ICHRA.
“No one has gotten in the way and disrupted the current (health) model that we currently have,” Oz said. “Much of what this administration is seeking to do is that, and President Trump is very clear about this — to break apart some of systems and allow us to get the most bang for the buck.”
A choice program, Oz noted, is like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Some may not want that type of health care coverage and should have the option to pick and choose their own coverage.
“The ability for us to use your choice to empower you as an individual by having an employer give you (the employee) money to buy your own, choice, your own path forward with your insurance policy that can give you and your family better coverage, allows people to pick and choose,” Dr. Oz said. “What’s happening in Indiana is a tax credit system that will make it easier for employees and employers to get more value out of the system.”
An Indiana House bill introduced state tax credits for small businesses (50 employees or less) offering an ICHRA. An ICHRA is an alternative to traditional group health insurance.
Hancock Health participates in the national MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) federal program, and while it has more than 50 employees, it is leading the state and nation in giving workers more health options as part of ICHRA options. Leaders there made more choices available for employees as of Jan. 1 based on what the employees wanted.
“There was some hesitancy when we initially announced the new plans for healthcare, and people were kind of worried, wondering ‘what does that mean,’ ‘are you still offering healthcare,’ ‘can I still see my doctor’ and things of that nature, but when we surveyed our associates one of the main things they wanted was choice,” said Abraham Salazar, benefits and compensation manager for Hancock Health.
Not only is “Dr. Oz” known nationally as a television health expert. he also serves as the 17th administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and President Donald J. Trump.
Oz told the crowd the choice programs that are out there now will continue to be embraced and endorsed at the federal level, but there is more that can be done. He’d also like to see more states come forward with legislation, as Indiana has done, to encourage more healthcare choices.
“We need more companies to look up and witness more opportunities that are out there,” Oz said. “Whether a business has 500 employees or 50 employees or more, this is an idea that’s time has come and it’s worth our investment.”
Oz was joined by several state and health officials on a stage at the wellness center, where he and Loeffler answered questions.
“This is my fourth trip to Indiana, and it’s a great state for small business owners, with over 590,000 small businesses,” Loeffler said. “This is all about making sure people are literate in their own health choices.”
Loeffler noted health care costs are crushing small business owners, but the ICHRA gives businesses options.
“That’s all changing with choice arrangements,” she said. “Giving that choice, that control, that flexibility and options to not just employers but employees.”
Indiana Sen. Mike Crider and Indiana Rep. Ethan Lawson, along with Hancock County Commissioners Gary McDaniel and Bill Spalding, attended the meeting. They listened to Oz say Indiana, coupled with employers like Hancock Health, is leading the nation and the state in transforming healthcare.
“When you talk about healthcare costs and the affordability, the more we can do to put the power of the costs into the individual healthcare patients and small businesses, that’s what is really going to make a difference,” Lawson said.
Lawson and Crider both said it’s good to see Indiana take the steering wheel as one of the first states to offer more healthcare options through this type of programming.
“That’s leadership,” Lawson said.
Crider said it will take some time to determine if this approach to healthcare is indeed better.
“I don’t think we’ll know that immediately,” Crider said.
Spalding and McDaniel both said while it’s somewhat easier for larger companies to provide a strong health coverage plan, for small businesses who can get tax breaks, choice arrangements and choice programs make good sense.
“It’s really hard for small businesses to remain competitive when health insurance costs so much,” Spalding said.
McDaniel, who is retired, noted when he first started working his health insurance was free.
“Things got worse after Obamacare because they started dropping things, and the cost kept going up,” McDaniel said.
While the government is backing the switch in healthcare choice arrangements and opportunities, Oz made it clear the initiative is not a government program but rather is being spearheaded by private insurance companies and private hospitals like Hancock Health.
“We want to unleash the creativity that exists in the healthcare system, and you don’t do that if your force people and put them in a channel with only one model of healthcare,” Oz said.
He then noted he does not expect more people to go without health insurance with more options; he expects the opposite to happen.
“I think we will increase the likelihood of people getting insurance,” he said. “It’s really scary, as some may know, to not have any coverage at all, so the opportunity to avoid being left without insurance by your employer, because they can’t afford the increases, we believe will dramatically increase the employer giving the employee options.”
In addition to announcing and showcasing the ICHRA health insurance option, Oz also announced the Trump Administration is giving $120 million to the state to expand maternal and infant health services, increase primary care access and grow the healthcare workforce across Indiana. The announcement is one part of the larger overall funding amount awarded to Indiana for fiscal year 2026. More information on that can be found here.
